North-erly wins

Mitchell gets 1,000th as Hubs win in breeze

Mitchell gets 1,000th as Hubs win in breeze

Kirksten Mitchell would have a hard time finding a better setting in which to score her 1,000th career point.

The North Hagerstown senior reached the milestone at home against rival South Hagerstown on Tuesday night, helping the Hubs rout the Rebels 77-43 to clinch a share of the MVAL Piedmont title.

Mitchell's 3-pointer with 6:20 left in the second quarter gave her 13 in the game and 1,000 on the number. She finished with 26 on the night.

"I knew I was getting close, but nobody told me how close," Mitchell said. "When they stopped the game, I thought I traveled or something. Then they told me and I thought, 'Oh, man!' and I went (into the stands) and hugged my mom."

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"She's just a special kid, a special person and a great player," Hubs coach Barry Brown said. "She and her fellow seniors and I have been through a lot together. She's been a huge part of our program and what it's been her four years. She deserves all the accolades she gets. She's had to work for everything."

South (5-13, 1-7) led 11-8 with 1:08 left in the first period when No. 1 North (18-2, 7-1) hit its stride. The Hubs finished the quarter with eight points in the final minute, then rolled off 35 points in the second quarter on 14-for-22 shooting -- including five 3-pointers -- to take a 51-20 lead into halftime.

"It's one of the better quarters we've played," Brown said. "We've been focusing on our press."

That press -- sometimes a 2-2-1 variety, sometimes a man-to-man -- forced South into 35 turnovers, 22 in the first half. The Hubs emptied the bench and used all 15 players to wear down the Rebels.

"When it comes down to it, they had more legs tonight," South coach Amy Schmuck said. "They had 15 girls and we had six, and it comes down to, can you withstand their pressure, and we can't play 15 on six.

"I wasn't disappointed with the performance. ... We have some talent and it's all about growth. This season, we've done nothing but move up on the scale. We have a couple more games to see what we can do, and next season is going to be a great season for us."

North's starters were out of the game by the fourth quarter, but the Hubs never let up on their pressure defensively, even when up 40 points early in the fourth.

"South has been winning games against good teams like Frederick and Smithsburg, and they've shown what they can do against teams that back off," Brown said. "The last thing we were going to do is take them lightly. We have a lot of work to do to get ready for the teams we'll see in the playoffs and we have to take advantage of every game we play."

Sam Koterwas had a season-high 15 points for North. Mitchell had five rebounds and five steals, LaRae Allen had 10 rebounds and six blocks, and Iman Scott and Quielanna Gantt each added nine points.